New Tank high Ammonia and Ick

This is a discussion on New Tank high Ammonia and Ick within the Tropical Fish Diseases forums, part of the Freshwater Fish and Aquariums category; -->
I just put water in my 45G tank about 4wks ago and right away put about 7 fish in it. At that time i ...

I just put water in my 45G tank about 4wks ago and right away put about 7 fish in it. At that time i had 3 tiger barbs, 2 rainbow sharks, 1 pictus cat, 2 pea puffers and 1 rubber lip placo. I know realized my first couple mistakes stocking to fast and not letting the tank get no letting the tank get leveled out. About a week and a half later all have died except the sharks. I took a sample of water the the LPS and it showed high ammonia. I did about a 30% water change and added some ammonia detox, that lowered the ammonia to just a stress level. I've also noticed a couple fish had ick so ive been treating with ick clear tablets I figured since the ammonia level has droppd id get a few more fish thinking the Ick would also clear. so now i have the 2 rainbow sharks (still have ick) and just bought a tire track eel, 2 tiger barbs and a black banded leporinus. Want to know what kinda treatment would be best for the ick since it dont seem to be clearing up? i dont think i can do the salt thing since because of the eel. The ick has been in the tank for about two weeks and have been treating for about a week now. The temp. is at 78F I also have live plants that i dont want to kill. PLEASE HELP!!!

You need to go buy a good water testing kit, such the API freshwater liquid testing kit.
Stress from ammonia and nitrites in the water, can cause your fish to develop ick. Ick can be impossible to get rid of if they are still stressed by water quality issues.
Your main focus now should be water changes to remove the ammonia and nitrite toxins. I am afraid medication on top of high ammonia levels, would be more than the fish can handle.
Once the ammonia and nitrite levels read zero, if the fish are still showing signs of ick, a ick treatment can be started.
Please do not add anymore fish till the tank is cycled, (zero ammonia and nitrites) and the ick has been cured.

I will go out and get one as soon as walmart opens. Also my sharks are rubbing against rocks and other things in the tank is this something normal to the rainbow sharks or ick? or is it some other kinda illness they might have

Ick causes irritation, what you see is called flashing. The fish are scratching themselves on the rocks.
My Walmart only has the test strips, not the liquid test kit. The test strips are not as accurate, but better than nothing. Pick up the liquid test asap, Money said he ordered some on Walmart's website for a good price.

I second Twistermom's advice, completely. Once you have the water quality resolved (through those daily partial water changes), then you can deal with the ich. At that time, I recomend Aquari-Sol; I have used it myself and it works with a minimum of stress to fish that are particularly sensitive to medications and chemicals.

Thank you guys, i tested my water today and the ammonia is down btwn .25 and .50 that was right after about a 40% water change so ill check it again tomorrow and see where its at. All my current fish are looking fine now with the exception of the two sharks with ick they look pretty bad, still active just fins are covered with the ick.

Have you increased the temperature yet? I'd suggest increasing the temperature to at least 84 degrees Fahrenheit and start dosing table salt at 0.3% solution which is 3 teaspoons per gallon. Be sure to dissolve the salt thoroughly before adding slowly to the tank. Treatment must be done for at least 2 weeks to ensure you completely eradicate the ich.

Salt should work just fine with your fish. What you need to remember is that salt must be dissolved thoroughly first and added slowly to avoid osmotic shock. I know from experience these main points which I did not follow through. Salt grains do burn their skin hence I suggested thorough dissolution. I've treated my loaches and catfishes with salt with no issues after carefully administering the treatment. It is all it takes to ensure your treatment is done successfully with no losses.

At this point, you also need to start investing for a quarantine tank so you can quarantine every new fish from hereon for at least 3-4 weeks. Don't take quarantine procedure for granted. Many a hobbyist have learned their lessons the hard way when they introduce new fish recklessly to their current stocks and end up incurring heavy losses as a result of the damage struck by pathogens which are als resistant to most chemicals that are recommended against them.

I have heard nothing but good about Quick Cure I bought some of that will that and a temp raise me ok for my tank or would the table salt at .3% be better for the fish? I got the ammonia down to .25 last night should i start this now or wait till its at 0?

Stick to salt first. If you dissolve it thoroughly and add it slowly, you should be fine. Failure to do both or either of the two was a common mistake for those who keep bottom dwelling fish. I actually violated the dissolution process before and ended up killing all my corydoras and kuhli loaches in the process. The next treatment however ran very well involving my other catfishes and several loaches since I decided to dissolve the salt thoroughly. Add salt equal to 5 gallons volume every 15-20 minutes. The gradual process will prevent your fish from suffering osmotic shock. Do a big water change first before you start treatment to pull down the ammonia as quickly as you can.

Meds are a last resort so you would be better off doing it later if salt treatment is not successful although salt treatment at 0.3% is already lethal to ich. For Quick Cure, both ingredients formalin and malachite green can degrade in water over time especially binding easily to organic matter so I normally would redose the med in 24-36 hours to keep the concentration consistent enough to destroy ich. Note that formalin can deplete the oxygen levels so if you opt for this med, start trying to increase the oxygen levels. Formalin and high temperature combined is very critical to heavy oxygen consumers.

I just want to point out that you need better planning for your future fish selections. Tiger Barbs, for example, would never thrive long term in a group of 3. Anything less than 7 is very high risk, and I would even suggest that groups of 13 or more are necessary for your best chance at success. Another issue is the Leporinus, which grows to a massive size for your tank, producing high amounts of waste that are sure to strain any filter system on a small aquarium.

When it comes to fish, you want to think long term, only purchasing fish that can live out their adult lives in your aquarium. If you take this approach, you will have successful aquariums that you can be proud of and enjoy for years.